Super Movie Saturday / Special Request

Several new Netflix movies arrived today... I watched most of this new series called 'Christy' some times it is hard to watch because of what the people endured during that time period (1912 and beyond) but I enjoy it because of how they responded to what times were like... My husband's first movie arrived today too... He wanted Enemy of the State... I will not be watching it with him... He isn't interested in watching Christy... I washed several loads of laundry today... My husband had to work today... When he works Saturday it makes for a long day for me... Our oldest flushed the toilet paper roll holder down the toilet... I went to the local hardware store and picked up another then installed it... I'm not sure how he managed this task... He did clean up his room today when asked... We bought him a drawer to store his toys in... It is working like we had hoped...

I have a special intention prayer for one of my readers... If you could please prayer for M. and her family in this especially hard time we would both greatly appreciate it... Thank you...

1st Lenten Friday - No Meat

Today is the first Friday of Lent... Hasn't been going very well for me in my 'improvement'... I only pray that each day I can do better then the previous... The fasting and no meat part has been easier then in years past... My husband had the day off and we dropped the van off for a new radiator, driver's door handle and to put that turn/runner light back because it fell off again... It was also my husband's pay day... We ran a few errands together like grocery store, Target, picking up a new deep fryer from Macy's and bank deposits... We made baked fish for dinner... It was delicious... We finished Hancock... It was pretty good... Better then I had expected... We didn't make it back to the repair shop before he closed so we are vanless... Which we aren't happy about at all... We will know better next time I guess... It is hard to do things in my husband's dinosaur I mean car... Otherwise good day...

Tasty Thursday

I tried a new recipe this week... It is very simple and easy... I found it on the back of the Onion Soup Mix Box...

Onion-Roasted Potatoes

1 envelope onion soup mix
2 lbs of potatoes cubed
1/3 C. Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In baking dish or roasting pan combine all ingredients.
2. Bake, stirring occasionally, 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown.

I had the monthly meeting about my oldest and the various services he receives... We all gave our updates as to how things are going and if there are any needs... I passed on the information from the Parent/Teacher Conference to the 'team'... Monkey had ST... I placed my first Schwan's order online... Now to wait for them to contact me about delivery... I went paid for class photos for the boys... I also talked to the staff and addressed questions I didn't ask at conference... We are all on the same page... I did a little laundry...

Ash Wednesday

Happy Ash Wednesday... I don't know why we have Ash Wednesday... I just know we fast, don't eat meat and go to Mass to have a cross of Ashes put on our forehead... I will have to do some research as to the whys of Ash Wednesday... I welcome my readers to share their resources... I'm always learning new things as a convert... The children colored some Ash Wednesday print outs (photo to come)... I picked up a veggie pizza which the children revolted and refused to eat... I gave it to a friend and her family of 10... We had plain ole boring cheese only pizza for dinner instead... I guess I will know better next time... I have Mac & Cheese scheduled for the children on our first meatless Friday... Peanut had ST this morning... I tried to rest this afternoon but the Schwan's man came and knocked on my door... ::smirk:: I flipped through the new catalog and saw several items I'd like him to bring when he comes again... Nothing for today... I'm still fighting off various ills... I'm going to rest and watch my newest to arrive movie Kit Kittredge... She's an American Girl for those who don't know... I've seen Molly, Samantha and Felicity's movies... I'm not sure if Chrissa's movie is available through netflix or not yet... I will have to do a search... I wish I could go to sleep but the tub is clogged (read hair cuts on Sunday) and I'm waiting for my husband to unearth the snake where ever he put it so I can unclog it... Maybe tomorrow I will have some good rest time... We will see...

Tooth Tuesday

If you hadn't guessed by the title of today's message... Linebacker has his first tooth coming through on the bottom right... I don't think I've ever seen a cuter tooth! Amazing how we can take the most joy in the tiniest things... He has to show his tooth off to those he meets... The children are all excited and now they think he can eat all kinds of things... ::smirk:: I had to explain he needs lots of teeth just like them... He does eat his far share of items without the aid of teeth... Some of his favorites are bits of chicken and waffles...

Today is Fat Tuesday... To celebrate I ate a whole regular size Baby Ruth... It was delicious... I'm going to switch Tasty Thursday to Tuesday starting next week... I think I'm going to share my Northern Pike Cakes recipe... It is simple and oh so Tasty... Thursday will be Thankful Thursdays when I list 10 things I'm especially Thankful for that week... If I don't limit myself it would be a very long post... ::grin:: I have no staff today because it's the staff birthday... He waited till late Sunday afternoon to say anything so no replacement staff could be found on such short notice...

I had all three conferences today... Monkey is doing AWESOME... The district had tried to hold him back a year because of his delays but I'm so glad I pushed for him to be in Kindergarten this year instead of a year of Head Start before starting Kindergarten next year... He is doing well in ST, OT and PT... He will probably not need OT or PT at all after 1st Grade... That is very exciting... In general academics in November when writing the numbers 0-20 he could only write 6... He can now write 17 out of 21... Upper case letters in November he could only write 2... He can now write 13 of 26... Lower case letters in November he could only write 5... He can now write 17 of the 26... He won't need ESY this summer but we are looking into a delayed students summer program through the local city park district... He has had wonderful improvement...

Next was my oldest Conference... He is doing very well too... They found a way to help him write... He builds the letter/number using wooden pieces then he writes the letter/number... That is a huge improvement over last year... It was a struggle to write just one letter or number for anything... He is also working on putting his shoes on correctly (left on left foot) and tying... He can put his shoes on his correct feet 75-80% of the time... They also noted he had only had 5 time outs in about 60 days... Where it was 20+ in a month... He would only work for 5 minutes or less... He can now work up to almost 1/2 hour with minimum disruptions... All amazing improvements...

We loaded up and had to drive across town for Peanut's conference... She is also doing very well and won't need to attend ESY this summer... She will need to come in for ST but only once a week... I'm hoping to work it out with my oldest ESY schedule... She has mastered since she started in September words that end with M and T... She has also mastered the concepts in/out, on/off, over/under, big/little, up/down and open/close... She still needs to master words that end with D, P and N... She is also still working on the concept of behind... She spoke in understandable sentence length in September of 2.5 words... She now speaks in an understandable sentence length of 3.95 words... It surpasses her goal of 3.5 words...

Linebacker showed off his gross motor, fine motor and social skills... I'm not sure if I wrote about this but he was screened last week and had to score a minimum of 48 out of a 100 to not be developmentally delayed... He scored a 78... The test is only up to 11 months so he is advanced at 9 months old...

I'm finishing off today with fighting the laundry and watching Out of Africa...

More of the Same - Monday

The ills seems to be circling our home... I now have a pretty bad cough and sore throat... My nose is either running or I can't breathe... I guess this is round 2! Peanut woke up with what I thought might be a fever... She had ST and then became warmer... I gave her medicine and she has slept most of the day... Hopefully that won't mean she will be up all night... She also has a mild cough... My oldest was sent home from school early... He has an ear infection in his right hear... They also 'cleaned' his ears... He should be able to hear better now and hopefully be in a better mood once the antibiotic kicks in good... Linebacker has an on and off caught and runny nose... Monkey has the occasional runny nose... I hope we are well enough to attend Ash Wednesday Mass this week... I'm glad today isn't Wednesday because I don't feel like going any where but to bed... I did two loads of laundry this morning while Peanut snoozed... I also emptied dishwasher... I made NC Pulled Pork BBCUE in the crock pot (will share recipe on Thursday)... It turned out delicious... We make it on the grill in the warm months and in the crock pot in the cool months... I picked up oldest RX for his ear and a bulletin so I know what's going on at the Parish this week... Completely slipped my mind on yesterday... My oldest went on a road trip with his respite worker... To see the new 'stage' finished... His respite worker is in a band... My oldest helped them build the 'stage'... Praying for a quiet, peaceful night... Hopefully some sleepy medicine and full nights sleep so I can wake up well... I would write about Sunday but I really need to lay down... We did start watching Hancock together... Sad and Funny at the same time... So far pretty good...

I'm Blue. What Color Are You?

BLUE

You give your love and friendship unconditionally. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Super Tired - Saturday

I am sooo tired... I didn't have a nap as I had planned and was very busy this afternoon and evening... We went to the library, my husband paid one of his Mall bills, plus looked in JPenney for a deep fryer, next we headed Target and Sam's... We did a ton of shopping and stocked up on all kinds of great things we needed... After we came home and unloaded everything... I divided up all the Sam's items... We cleaned out of freezer in the garage and reorganized it and our refrigerator freezer... I had to go back out for regular grocery store shopping... We had 'snacks' for dinner.. We bought a new phone to replace our other one... The LCD went out on both handsets causing many issues in receiving and making calls... We are very excited to try them out once they finish their SEVEN hour initial charge... We spent the rest of the night watching our new DVDs from the library with the children... A new Netflix arrived today 'First Wives Club'... Old but funny movie... I look forward to it... I remember watching in my past... I've also recently enjoyed 'Overboard' and the original 'Stepford Wives'... After that I'm headed to bed for an even earlier night then last night...

Frosty - Friday

We had quite the snow event today... They had said 1-3 inches but we had at least 4-6 in my part of town... It was beautiful snow... Very light and fluffy... I ran out for errands around the new hour... I also took Peanut to the doctor... She failed her hearing screening... She has a cold and a sore throat but no strep or ear infections... I baked the bars for the funeral... I picked Monkey up and we went to Soccer... The children had an awesome time... I dropped off my many items to my friends... I saw so many of my FMCHE friends I hadn't seen for a while... Each of us has had our share of illness not to mention weather that keeps us from being able to visit each other as often as we would like sometimes... I cleaned up a lot of papers that had been cluttering the computer room... Filled on our of 'paper' trash cans... I watched a couple Netflix movies online... Now I'm going to head to bed early... I'm sure tomorrow will be another busy day...

Tasty Thursday

I did a load of laundry as soon as I woke up... I dropped off the oldest three... I also made Tasty Mozzarella Chicken before picking Peanut up from school... I took a nice nap and picked up the boys... Monkey had ST... Our Pampered Chef order came in... I talked to several friends about what I will bring with me to soccer... My group is serving the reception after a funeral on Saturday... I won't be able to help in person so I'm making bars... I wasn't able to make them tonight like I had planned... Here is the recipe I promised...

Tasty Mozzarella Chicken

1 egg, beaten
2 T. water
2/3 C. bread crumbs
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/8 t. pepper
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-1/2 C. spaghetti sauce
8 oz pkg mushrooms, sliced and sauteed or 7 oz can if you like them like that
8 oz block mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. In quart zip lock, place egg and water. In gallon zip lock, combine bread crumbs, soup mix, and pepper. Coat chicken in egg mixture, then shake in crumb mixture till well coated.
2. Place in greased baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
3. Place mushrooms over chicken, pour spaghetti sauce over chicken. Bake another 10-15 minutes until chicken is done and sauce is bubbly. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5-7 minutes longer until cheese melted.

Wintry - Wednesday

Today was a very Wintry day... It was chilly cold and we had a light dusting of snow... I would go outside and shiver... That rarely happens to me... I dropped the boys off... Peanut had Speech... The phone rings... The voice on the other side "come pick up oldest his nose is running, and he wants to lay down and be wrapped up... he 'might' have a fever"... So, I go and pick him up... I expected him to wreak havoc after we arrived home but he was surprisingly good... I stopped by the auto repair shop so the mechanic could make notes as to what he needed for the radiator replacement... Now he can order the parts... I made Tasty Mozzarella Chicken for lunch... I will post the recipe on Tasty Thursday... I ran out to the library and picked up some videos and books... I picked up a couple cooking magazines for my next cooking inspiration... I picked up Monkey and he had Speech... It's almost dinner time and Linebacker was a bit fussy last night... I'm quite tired today... No nap since oldest was home and despite him feeling a bit under the weather he wasn't interested in taking a nap... Hoping to call it an early night after baths and story time... Hopefully we will sleep better tonight... I think he might be starting to teeth and he does have a cold...

To Do List - Tuesday

Today was super busy as predicted... I dropped the three older ones off and headed way up north to the Children's Museum... Monkey had a field trip there this morning... We were the blue group... It consisted of Glasses (girl), Miss In Charge (girl), Free Thinker (boy), and Monkey... We had a great time exploring all the hands on activities... After that I stopped at the post office to mail my mother some pictures of the children I printed out here on my photo printer... I stopped to see a friend of mine... They are recovering from the stomach thing... It was a brief visit... I went to the bank... I stopped and picked up 3 bars of face wash for my husband... It was time to pick up Peanut at that point... I picked her up... I fixed 'lunch'... We scheduled the radiator repair for the van... I ran out to the store to pick up 'dip' chips and breakfast bars for Monkey... I also had to go to 4 stores to find my husband his 'special' medicine he likes to take when he has a cold... He will only take one kind and it has to be name brand and not the long lasting... I ate lunch and paid the mortgage online... My husband was finally off to work and I took a power nap... I picked up the boys and made another stop at the bank... I fed the children dinner and thought I still have plenty of energy left in me... I'm going to do some quilting... Unfortunately a special ruler I need is missing... My 6" and my 12"... I ordered another 6" and 50 Fabulous Paper-Pieced Stars and Companion CD-ROM... I ordered both from Carol's website... I buy directly from her... My little you paid all your bills 'reward'... I used some money I earned answering surveys... Nice to buy things without worrying about interest later... It is like using electronic cash... I look forward to the day when I don't have CC bills coming month after month after month... I did make a huge dent in them with our tax refund so I'm on my way to be CC free... ::grin:: I also have a savings that is starting to build... All of which is very exciting... I'm feeling optimistic about life in general... Now if spring would come things would be just rosy... ::smirk::

Might Be Over - Monday

My head cold might be over... I'm feeling better and didn't take any medicine today... So, hopefully that's a good sign... I'm still very tired... Linebacker is 9 months old today... Nothing much happened on Sunday... Spent the day laying around taking medicine... I went to bed early... Today was a quiet day... I paid a lot of bills today... It was a long day of crunching numbers to decide how much of the tax refund to devote to different debts... I'm almost finished with my new book - The Duggars: 20 and Counting! I have learned so much more about their family that the 'TV Shows' could possibly cover... It is well written and an easy read... Tomorrow promises to be a jam packed busy day... I'm headed off to bed...

Still Not Feeling So Well - Saturday

This head cold is still going strong... I picked up more medicine for the children and I today... I did manage to have a nap on and off this afternoon while my oldest was out... The other children who are also part of the sick ones settled down for a nap too... Hopefully the sleep did us some good...

Not Feeling So Well - Friday

Head colds have struck our household and taken down 4 out of 6... One of those is me... So, no message... I will probably take tomorrow off too... Happy Saint Valentine's Day...

Tasty Thursday

First I will recap the day then I will share my new chicken recipe I made Monday and Wednesday this week... I dropped all the children off where they needed to be... I went to the hardware store to pick up some 'keys' for the upstairs doors... The other ones have 'vanished'... I also picked up thicker and longer screws for our front door hardware... I went to the bank and cashed a check... I put gas in van... I was at a 1/8 of a tank... ::frown:: I'm up above a 1/2 now... I stopped at the local Catholic book store... I picked up a really cool book called Religious Customs In The Family: The Radiation of the Liturgy into Catholic Homes by Fr. Francis X. Weiser, S.J... I've browsed it casually but look forward to reading it cover to cover... I also picked up some prayer cards... A Valentine's gift for my husband and new Crucifix... My other one went missing after I had it repaired... After I picked up Peanut I went to the grocery store since we were almost out of milk... I picked up two more things for Valentine's for my husband...

Chicken Fingers

6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Egg, beaten
1 C. Buttermilk (or 1 C. Regular Milk and 1 T. Lemon Juice/Vinegar stirred and let it sit a bit)
1-1/2 t. Garlic Powder
1 C. Flour
1 C. Bread Crumbs
1 t. Salt
1 t. Baking Powder
Oil for Frying

Cut the chicken into 1/2" strips; place in gallon size resealable bag. Combine egg, buttermilk, and garlic powder; pour over chicken. Seal and refrigerate 2-4 hours (I usually do overnight because I cook our 'dinner' mid-morning or do it first thing in the morning to cook that evening what ever works best for your schedule). In another gallon size resealable bag, combine flour, bread crumbs, salt and baking powder. Drain chicken, and discard buttermilk mixture. Place chicken in flour mixture; seal and shake to coat. In an electric skillet, heat oil to 375 degrees. I used a standard non-stick skillet on the stove... I heated it to medium... I knew it was ready after I flicked it with water and it made popping sounds... You may need to increase or decrease depending on your stove... I used enough oil so the chicken was 3/4 submerged when frying... Fry the chicken in batches (my pan held 4-5 strips) for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown... Again 4 minutes for the first side and 5 minutes for the 2nd side worked best for me... That had it nicely browned and it was over cooked or raw in the middle. Cut to test it is cooked through to a safe eating temperature. Drain on paper towels. Yield: Approx 18 strips/fingers

Wadding Through The Water - Wednesday

Not sure where to begin to tell you about the events of today... Peanut had ST... The slushy / icy lake at the end of the drive way was still there... It didn't freeze solid like I thought it would... Monkey still had a fever today so we did no schooling with him... Peanut had ST... I went and had Linebacker weighed... We didn't make it to the monthly Breastfeeding group... He is now 15 lbs and 7-1/2 oz... Up from his ER weight of 14 lbs 4 oz on January 19th... So, over a lb in less then a month... We are thrilled! I dropped two NetFlix DVDs in the mail box and two more are 'estimated' to arrive tomorrow... I picked up my oldest and canceled Monkey's ST... I rescheduled my oldest psych appointment because I had scheduled it on the same day/time as my dentist appointment... I fried more chicken today... We loved it so much my husband had me another batch of what we had Monday... The recipe to be shared tomorrow... All the children went to bed easily... Linebacker was asleep but has woke up again when my oldest came home after going out for the a bit tonight to the mall for some Valentine's day shopping... Linebacker ate some veggie and cereal... Hopefully after some 'mommy milk' he will snooze back to sleep so I can have an 'early' night tonight... I slept wrong or the stress of all this water has my back in knots... I ache from the hair line on my neck all the way down to my waist... I did have a 5-10 minute hot soak in the tub... That helped a bit... I'm hoping it is from stress and not how I slept because it makes me not want to go to sleep for fear to wake up in even more pain... I'm trying to avoid taking medicine since I am still nursing... I feel a cold coming on so I soon will probably have to take medicine for that... Again I'm waiting till it's so bad I can't stand it... I wish there was something all natural I could take (oral) that was also safe with nursing...

To Be Continued Tuesday

The day didn't improve as I signed off my blog last night... Our ceiling continued to drip to wake up to puddles in the table (containers overflowed catching the drips), puddles on the floor and a wet kitchen rug... Cleaned it all up... We are praying everything freezes and doesn't thaw for a few months so if need be we can save up the extra funds we need for a deductible or repair... Prior to waking to that Monkey had another episode of croup... Luckily it was a mild episode that didn't warrant a middle of the night trip to the ER like last year... He said he felt well enough for school today but we had to cut the day short because he didn't feel as well as he calmed... Today was the 100th day of school... A very exciting day during the school year in our house... So, at 1 PM he was put in the bed for the day... I was leaving this morning and was trapped at the end of my drive way for 10-15 minutes... The ice/snow had melted enough to create deep ruts that you become caught in if you don't BARREL out of your drive way onto the street... My tires were half way underwater/ice chunks when I was stuck... We spent an hour chipping away at it... It rained most of the day is now an icy lake... It is due to freeze in about 90 minutes... So, it will be a GIANT sheet of ice... Fun fun... We dropped the van off at our repair man... He fixed the dangling running/turn signal light on the passenger side... He also informed us our radiator will need replacing... He did a temporary fix till our Tax Refund can come... We learned why it was delayed today... AUDIT! Now why on earth they would waste tax payers money to review our tax return is beyond me... We have the simplest and most ordinary return someone could have... We have a total of 3 papers to file ONE W2, ONE Property Tax, and ONE Homeowner paper (interest paid on mortgage or something)... What a Joke! We are hoping it will show up in a few day NOW vs it showing up a few days from the last time I talked about it... I signed us up for NetFlix... The library selection was becoming more and more limited... Our first disc arrived today for our free trial... We have Little House on the Prairie - Pilot, Season 1 Disc 1 and Season 1 Disc 2... We are really enjoying watching good quality family programing together as a family... I will be sending a couple disc back out that we are done with tomorrow so new ones can arrive... I think that is about all that's happening today... Hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful...

Messy Monday

Today has been just a messy day as far as weather goes... I slide all over the place this morning... Including into a snow bank (would have hit the curb if you was visible)... The front license plate came off when I backed up to continue on my way... To think I was only going 10... I hate the thought if I was going the 25 the sign says... I won't be going any where today and don't look forward to the mountain of errands I have to do tomorrow... I have appropriately named this post... I returned from picking up the boys and discovered my kitchen was WET... I was thinking ugh those children attacked the kitchen the sink sprayer again... NOPE! Our roof is LEAKING!!! In 3 places over the kitchen table... So, I mopped up the water and put out some plastic containers to catch the water as it drips... The down side was 3 of my cookbooks were on teh able two of them open to recipes... Now I have to figure out how to dry them out... The party has started huh? I made a new chicken recipe which I will share on Tasty Thursday (hopefully the cookbook will be dried out by then)...

Yesterday wasn't too exciting... We attended Mass...

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. - Blessing of Saint Blaise

We received the Blessing of St. Blaise... I found quite a bit of information at the link attached to his name...

We had a quick 'sub' lunch... We picked up a DVD for Monkey's birthday which is about a month away now... I went out later with Linebacker... We picked up the rest of the 'grocery' list... We bought him a stand-up push toy... He loves it... I will snap some pictures to share... I also picked up a 'sometimes' baby gate... Linebacker likes to 'interrupt' ST so the gate would be used for that 1/2 hour 4 times a week to keep him so he isn't being confined to his jumper toy or being held the entire time... He will have the freedom to explore... He's really into the going out checking things out and then coming back to check in with mama phase... I finally have a copy of the new Duggar book... I flipped through it and already learned all kinds of new things... I look forward to when I can read it cover to cover... We bought a new 'fryin' pan over the weekend... We made burgers in it last night... They were awesome!

Simply Ordinary Saturday

Today was simply an ordinary Saturday in our house... My husband let me take a short nap while he made 'breakfast' for the troops... It was a much needed nap... We then headed out to run errands... We went shopping in search of a new 'family' size frying pan... We found an awesome one... However we didn't find a new 'phone' table for the library... Our current phone table was a tall slender dresser that has bit by bit been dismantled by the oldest and is nothing but an empty shell now... It is an eye sore... Really drags down the whole room... We de-cluttered that room last night of unneeded toys and books... We now have 42 gallons worth of toys in storage... We also threw out a LARGE garbage bag (not one of those tiny 13 gallon ones) of just plain TRASH! Trash meaning everything from ripped up paper, broke toys to pieces of crayon and unusable books... The room is so much more pleasant now to play in... Much easier to maintain... Just now I tackled my bookshelf... I wish I had taken a BEFORE picture because looking at the AFTER you can't truly appreciate the nightmare it was without knowing how far it has come... It looks really nice now and I was able to take media from other rooms of the house and put them where they belong which of course is the book shelf... ::GASP:: Keep books on a book shelf! Who thought of such a thing ?!?!? ::smirk:: We also picked up another tote which I filled with books I don't need in my current path in life but will want later... We made a quick run to the grocery store to restock the freezer/pantry/refrigerator... Also, to pick up the fixings for Sunday Dinner... My husband went out with Monkey to the PO and Library also earlier today... They found 'General Lee' the car from Dukes of Hazzard at a local 2nd hand store... My husband noted the large amount of people shopping he also noticed the jacking up of prices on the part of the 2nd hand store... How nice of them huh? That's all for now... I'm going to call it a night and take a much desired soak in the spa... ::grin:: As for the spell check and image buttons as well as all the other buttons... They have now reappeared... I 'cleaned' our computer and that fixed the issue... Thank you everyone for suggestions...

Filled with Thoughts - Friday

I have a lot on my mind today... Things are changing around here for the good but how to make through these changes is what I am struggling with... Today I made my family's version of Mexican Layer Dip... I have the recipe on Tasty Thursday (will write that soon)... I de-cluttered my sewing area which is related to my struggles... How does one down-size? It is obvious... Painfully so... We have too much 'stuff'... Yet it is hard to part with 'things' because it cost money which most of you know we have very little of... So, we feel we must keep these items because we did use what money we had to buy them... The price of things only seems to go up as we progress into the future... So, buy now why the price is still low... ::smirk:: I don't know... This is just really hard... As a parent we all want our children to have so many things yet we don't want them be selfish or be ungrateful with what they have... How do we find balance? What do they 'truly' need? I feel we haven't been good stewards of the wealth we have been provided which in part is our fault for falling into the whole commercialism nonsense... We are all bombarded every day with all this 'you need this' or 'to be a good parent your child needs this'... After the fact you feel bad you spent all that money (you never can obtain what you paid for an item it automatically loses value), your child lost interest in the item quickly and here you are stuck with this thing you should never have bought in the first place... ::sigh:: I am truly at a loss as to the best course of action...

Tasty Thursday - Recipes

Today wasn't too exciting... My oldest went to his monthly psychiatry appointment... No changes were made... My dad had his birthday today... We talked on the phone a bit... That's about all that happened... I going to devote today's post to all the recipes I made for Super Bowl Sunday 'week'... ENJOY! Photos will come shortly if I took one...

Mexican Layer Dip (family recipe)

1-2 C. Re fried Beans, warmed (I have a recipe for this too)
8 oz Sour Cream
1 C. Salsa
1 lb prepared Taco Meat, warm
8 oz block of shredded cheese, I like mild/white cheddar
1/4 head of lettuce shredded finely
1 lg tomato diced (I forgot this in the photos)
1/2 bunch green onions, thinly sliced/chopped
1-2 Jalapenos, finely chopped (optional)

Use a large plate or pizza pan (round metal one w/ rim)

Place a thin layer of re fried beans, next a thin layer of sour cream on the re fried beans, next a layer salsa on the sour cream, layer of meat on salsa, layer cheese on meat, layer lettuce on cheese, layer tomatoes on lettuce, layer green onions on tomatoes, and finely if you choose to do so garnish the top with jalapenos... If you are a guacamole lover you can add a layer of that as well between the meat and cheese... Serve warm the first time w/ some type of corn chips... It is great the next day cold or you can heat it but it may not be to tasty with warm lettuce/sour cream... If you make the layers too thick it won't turn out well either...

Taco Tater Skins (Taste of Home)

6 Large Brown Skin Taters
1/2 C. butter, melted
2 T. Taco Seasoning (I used what was left of the packet to season my meat for the layer dip listed above)
1 C. shredded cheese
1/2 pk bacon cooked and crumbled
1/4 bunch green onions, chopped
Salsa/Sour Cream (optional)

Bake taters at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until tender. Reduce heat to 350 degrees... All taters to cool enough to handle... Cut into quarters length wise... I used a ice cream scoop to scoop out excess potato... You want to leave a 1/4" shell... I turned the extra potato into a side dish for the children who didn't like the skins... Brush each skin w/ butter on both sides... Place skin side down on a baking sheet... Sprinkle each skin with taco seasoning... Top w/ shredded cheese, bacon and green onions... Bake 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with Salsa and/or Sour Cream if desired...
Yields: 2 dozen

Jalapeno Popper Pizzas {official name} (Pampered Chef Recipe)
Coming soon... Need to take care of linebacker...

Ways to Grow in Catholicism - Wednesday

It started out a typical Wednesday... Dropped the boys off and Peanut had ST... I finished making the rest of the Jalapeno Poppers and Taters Skins... I seriously should not wait so long to type... My mind isn't as sharp as it used to be at times... It is hard for me to even remember the events of Wednesday... I picked up the boys and Monkey had ST... It was monthly CCD night... I was expecting a talk to the parents about various Lenten activities that we could do as a family... However the Fr. W. gave this wonderful 'presentation' about setting up for a Sick Call with the aid of a Sick Call Box or Sick Call Crucifix (see photo above)... It was truly an amazing experience... Growing up non-Catholic I know very little about this particular sacrament... There is nothing that I can even compare it to in my protestant upbringing... I learned so much and am grateful for the knowledge he shared with us...

Time To Run Errands Tuesday

Today was 1st of the month errand day... I dropped off the children... Linebacker and I made our rounds... I dropped paper work off for a 6 month review and headed to the Property Tax office/county treasurer to pick up our reimbursement... Last year you just handed them a piece of paper and waited/hoped for it to come in the mail... This year I waited a couple of minutes and she handed me a check... Woo hoo!!! Now for our tax refund to come in a few days (yes, we already filed ::smirk::)... We will "never be broke again" a famous saying my husband uses... The good news is I will go from 7 debts to 4 after tax refund arrives... How awesome is that?!?! After Treasure's office I headed further into downtown to fill my oldest monthly prescriptions... I headed south to our repair man... He took a look at a few things we are fixing again after the refund arrives... He wrote down what he needs and we have an appointment set up for my husband's next day off during the week...To the PO was my next stop to ask questions and buy 'forever' stamps... Don't forget the price is going up again on stamps only after Mother's Day... A lady who I sold eye shadow to on eBay bought me out... So, I have NO MARY KAY in my house except a few outdated compact which you can't even give away for $0.99 and FREE shipping on eBay... To think I sold these to people for $16 + tax before the 'restyled' them and made them obsolete... ::eye roll:: So, I've paid off my debt from that mistake and removed all inventory from my home... VERY GOOD FEELING!!! I paid our car insurance (we are on the monthly payment plan). I tried to figure out how best to pack up my buy out... I chatted with my husband briefly before I left to pick up Peanut and he headed to his bi-yearly dental appointment... On the way home Peanut, Linebacker and I stopped at the bank to deposit the Property Tax Refund... After returning home Peanut drew on a note pad while Linebacker played at my feet... I was busy using up the rest of the crab meat I used to make Crab Stuffed Mushrooms into Crab Cakes (Mr. Food recipe)... They turned out DELICIOUS! My husband returned just as I finished the cooking of the last cake... We sat down and enjoyed lunch together before he headed to work... I took a much needed nap then headed out to pick up the boys... I figured out how to ship the buy out for the price I quoted... That was a relief... It was looking like I was going to be off by $2-4 and not in my favor... After the PayPal payment arrives, out it ships gone forever... Time for dinner... I'm going to make more Jalapeno Poppers (Pampered Chef Recipe) and Tater Skins (Taste Of Home Recipe) tonight... Hopefully catch up on dishes and laundry... Wish me luck... ::grin::

Beginning Again

I'm back hopefully without another long break like before... I'm going to work on the habit of blogging every day (minus Sundays) again... Today Peanut had ST... I made Crab Stuffed Mushrooms (Mr. Food Recipe) during that time... I then took my husband to the DMV... His driver's license expired on his birthday 16th of December and he didn't know it expired till January 31st when a check out girl asked to see it when he wrote a check... He is good till 2012... I stopped at the store with Peanut and Linebacker to pick up Milk, Juice, Linebacker food, and a few other things I needed for 'Super Bowl' food... I then spent the next hour systemically tearing our house apart to find my oldest Bob the Builder - Teamwork DVD box... It was due today... I found it INSIDE the recliner he likes to sit in... I had to flip it upside down and unfold it to dislodge the box... It has been safely returned... I picked up Monkey and my oldest... I had to leave the van in the driveway where I usually put it away after picking them up so I don't have to do it later when the temps really DROP... Well, with the BIG thaw we had the past few days snow melted and dripped in front of the 'work shop' door making it nearly impossible to go in and out of the garage... I did manage to squeeze through this morning to take the van out... I had 4-6" space to squeeze through... When my husband comes home he will have to pound the ice w/ a sledge hammer so we can open the door further... It will be in the teens below zero by that time... I was using the computer and notice an odd smell coming from the direction of the CPU... I turned it off and went hmm that isn't good... I opened it up and saw it was extremely dusty so I de-dusted it... It isn't making that funny smell any more... ::smirk:: I made Classic Mini Cheeseburgers tonight... Delicious!!! I will share the recipe later... It is from Pampered Chef... I have a crazy busy errand filled day tomorrow... I'm off to clear out laundry so my husband can clean out our room... I will wash the laundry if it is in the laundry area... I am however not going to go 'seek' out laundry to do... Anyone with 4 of more children understands me completely... It is good to be back chatting with you all again... I look forward to sharing my ups and downs with you... Welcome Back... ::smile::